When I heard that Marco Pierre White would be hosting a reality show, I have to admit that I was a little bummed. It's Marco Pierre White! I love The Devil in the Kitchen and his bad boy chef attitude. How can you not respect the drive he approaches his cooking with, and his huge move to give back his 3 Michelin stars when he left the kitchen?
I watched some of Chopping Block, mostly to support MPW. It was an okay show. Only three episodes aired and then saw this article this morning saying that NBC has pulled it. Now, it says they may air the show at a later date, but who knows. There are so many cooking reality shows on the air now, what does it take for a show to succeed? Drama? Highly attractive characters? Good food? Talented chefs?
They all seem formulaic to me. Now, I do watch some of them, but they are all similar. With some backstabbing by teammates. Strong willed people. Drama of all kinds. Finger pointing. What about the food?! It makes me wonder what the next cooking show will look like. They are entertaining, but is it really ever about the cooking or finding the best chef?
On another note: As we discussed some of the cooking shows at work the other day, I stumbled on to an interesting thought that has since been bouncing around in my head. One of the cooks on the line said to me in regards to MPW and others who have taken on cooking reality shows, "don't we all sell out?" It's really made me think, do we all sell out at some point?
I don't know what selling out would be for me. I don't want to define it and box it in to one or two things. It's something that we have to evaluate at each step we take in our careers/lives. Let it bounce around in your head for a little bit and let me know what you think.
Till then, read The Devil in the Kitchen. It's an amazing book, even if you don't work in a professional kitchen.
Song of the Day: D Is for Dangerous by: Arctic Monkeys
